NashvilleCat wrote:So, does this team not want to be coached or is Dan not capable of coaching or imposing his will? If it's the former then Mario needs to have a long talk with Sid, Geno, and Letang. If it's the latter then we need someone with a little more fire in the belly.

He's imposing his will. I don't think the players have tuned him out. My feeling is that them following his strategy is the problem. Dan's system seems to require absolute precision and skill. Best analogy I can use is like a spread offense in football. It works great when you have the best and fastest guys on the field who are so athletically gifted that they make lesser teams look absolutely silly. But when you play a team that understands how it works and has players that can keep up with you, suddenly it looks terrible. I don't think it's a shocker we are like the bi-polar disease of the NHL: we either look insanely good or insanely bad. I can't think of the last time in the playoffs we've been on a stretch of solid 2-1, 3-1, 3-2 games.

I also don't think it's a shock that experienced coaches are figuring us out. I mean, if I use the football analogy again, the Bruins were jumping all of our routes and waiting for our RBs in the hole before he got there.

DB gets credit for taking the 2009 team that was dying in the regular season and turning it around. But that year, his system was a hybrid trap and loosening up. Every year since then, we have departed more and more from it and the "grind these ******** down" mentality and more towards a Harlem Globetrotters mentality. And to be honest, I don't think DB has the slightest clue of how to operate in the defensive end. Not only does it look like a cluster back there on a regular basis, but the system makes solid dmen look completely lost (talking about the Martins, Michaleks, and Orpiks and even Despres to the extent he is allowed to play, not the Letangs and Niskanens). The super stay at home guys like Murray and Engelland look ok most of the time. It just signals to me that DB doesn't know defense well enough to work with the guys who aren't extreme offensive dmen or extreme defensive dmen.

“We've got to change our mindset,” Vokoun said. “Play differently. We have to stay focused on our game plan. That means you play for 60 minutes. Unfortunately, we gave up the first goal in both games. At that point, everyone tries to do it on their own. That just doesn't work.”

GDR wrote:“We've got to change our mindset,” Vokoun said. “Play differently. We have to stay focused on our game plan. That means you play for 60 minutes. Unfortunately, we gave up the first goal in both games. At that point, everyone tries to do it on their own. That just doesn't work.”

that's crap coaching to me then. dan's the general and these should be his troops. design a system that can beat the other team and have the players stick to it. not this individual play and I do see that.

I'm soothing my ire for DB by picturing him as the Zapp Brannigan of the NHL.

"It was almost the perfect game, but you forgot one thing: Fleury beats Bruins... but Vokoun beats Fleury, and Bruins beat Vokoun! Tony, we have a conundrum! Search for Fleury, and bring me the Bruins."

Sid: "What game plan is this anyways?"DB: "I don't know. This entire strategy is unplanned!"Granato: "It's not unplanned, you lost the plans."

BTW... in this scenario, Granato is Kiff. It works well too. "Tony, tell the men no practice tomorrow. We'll beat the Bruins with our minds." "ergh... ugh... yes, sir."

If Bylsma wears a velour suit to Game 3, I will stop asking for him to be fired.

bhaw wrote:I'm soothing my ire for DB by picturing him as the Zapp Brannigan of the NHL.

"It was almost the perfect game, but you forgot one thing: Fleury beats Bruins... but Vokoun beats Fleury, and Bruins beat Vokoun! Tony, we have a conundrum! Search for Fleury, and bring me the Bruins."

Sid: "What game plan is this anyways?"DB: "I don't know. This entire strategy is unplanned!"Granato: "It's not unplanned, you lost the plans."

BTW... in this scenario, Granato is Kiff. It works well too. "Tony, tell the men no practice tomorrow. We'll beat the Bruins with our minds." "ergh... ugh... yes, sir."

If Bylsma wears a velour suit to Game 3, I will stop asking for him to be fired.

Exactly. Same things that give other teams success against us, whether it's Flyers or Islanders or now. Flyers clogged the middle like hell when they beat us. Same as Bruins are doing. Islanders gave us real trouble with speed. Notice Marchant. I am becoming more and more convinced we need a style overhaul.